History

 

 

Ballet Caraïbes, formerly known as The Dominica Children School of Dance and the brainchild of  Flora Leptak-Moreau  is a project which Flora started in her homeland, Dominica, an island in the Caribbean located between two French-speaking islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe in May 1985. Flora wanted to expose children to the art of dancing, to create training opportunities for children who have the urge to dance and for those children who otherwise did not have access to educational programs beyond the normal non-arts school day such as dance to get the opportunity to develop their talent and develop valuable learning skills through the art of dancing.

The school catered to children from 3  years and offered programs based on rhythmic and creative expressions to bring out the natural ability to move freely and easily. Other programs included dance (modern-jazz, ballet, folk) and drama. The school of dance staged recitals annually as well as participated in a national creative dance competitions.

The main aims were ( and still are today) to:

To adapt a plan of work so that all students could participate fully and  obtain enjoyment and education from the dance program, to acquire the qualities of a dancer or actor and to ensure that the program contributed significantly towards their cognitive, psychomotor, affective and social development; to provide each child with the opportunity to be fully exposed to dance and traditional folk and ring games, to develop the creative potential of the youth, help them develop a sense of co-ordination, timing and rhythm as well as their concentration span and listening skills that they could transfer to other learning areas of their lives. Also, the aim was to develop a sense of unity and co-operation among others, develop a sense of responsibility and encourage social interaction while also developing a level of self-consciousness from a spiritual, physical and mental perspective and thus build their self confidence.

" Our interest lies in the development of the individual's talent, confidence, self-awarenss, and personality".